Little Brother
by Tsukino Akume
Summary: After becoming a Ranger, Casey instinctively wants to turn to the two people who have always been there when he needed them most.
1. The Call

If I owned Power Rangers I'd be working this into a script, because it amuses me.

If you know me well enough, and you squint at just the right moment, this has Conner/Ethan and suggestions of Casey/Theo.

I actually wrote this right after I first saw Jungle Fury and posted it on my LiveJournal account. For some reason, I keep forgetting that it wasn't posted here yet. Oops. x.x

Casey reminds me of Conner, to the point that this wouldn't leave me alone. While Theo strikes me as Kai and Justin's love child, which brings bad images and makes me hide from Leo. And Lily has to be related to Dustin or Chip somehow; it's all about the Yellow enthusiasm.

But regardless, R.J. rules.

The Call

Casey paced the floor.

He wanted to call them. He **really** wanted to call them. He didn't have the slightest clue about what he was doing, and if there was anyone who knew what he was going through right now, it'd be Conner and Eric.

He made a face. Well, duh. Of **course** Conner knew what he was going through. He'd been there before. And Eric knew what it was like to be the new guy who's skills weren't as good as everyone else. If it hadn't been for his pointers, he'd never have made it into the Pai Zhuq school at all. He still didn't think he should have gone in the first place, but Eric and Conner had been insistent: a McKnight Brother always needed to be prepared.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes with a hand. He'd been close to his cousins ever since they'd been introduced as children. Even when he was still learning to walk, Eric and Conner had adopted him immediately, declaring him their third brother. Their parents thought it was cute, but never believed they'd actually thought they'd stay that close when they got older.

He smirked faintly. Fourteen years later, his cousins were still his best friends. Even with Conner focused on prompting Kick It, his soccer camps for kids, he never failed to respond to a call or e-mail. After all the rough patches of his training, Eric had finally became a full-fledged Earth Ninja of the Wind Ninja Academy, but he'd still made time to help get Casey into training for the Order of the Claw.

That closeness between the three of them was why they'd never been able to lie to one another. When Eric had been chosen to join the academy, he'd practically blurted it out over the phone the next time they'd called, Conner eagerly talking over him at the same time. He'd been jealous of course, and worried about what it would mean - it was hard to keep up with fifteen year old cousins when he was only eleven. But he supported Eric completely, and spent hours talking to Conner whenever he felt lonely without his twin around.

After Conner had been chosen - or 'dragged kicking and screaming' as he fondly liked to put it - into his becoming a Ranger, it had tortured him not to be able to tell them all about it. He'd dropped blatant hints left and right about 'working on a new project to help people', a project that 'might **save the world** someday'. He'd become freakishly obsessed with the color red, and claimed it was 'a badge of honor'. The thing with picking up T-rexes all over the place. When he'd actually tried to tell them that the Dino Rangers in Reefside were cooler than soccer, they thought he'd lost it. Which was why the moment his Power was gone, he'd demanded they both come home immediately, because he had something 'super-important' to tell them.

They showed up, exhausted and worried, and promptly beat the bright-eyed and happy Conner senseless with pillows when he told them he was a superhero - **former** superhero.

But now he was finding himself almost literally in Conner's shoes. Should he tell them, even though they'd probably be worried? **Was** he allowed to tell them? Conner had said his teacher told his team to keep their identities a secret.

"Wearing a hole in the floor, or practicing some new super-secret training technique?"

He jumped, staring at R.J. somewhat wild-eyed. "Uh ... No, sorry. I was just ... thinking about making a phone call."

R.J. cocked his head. "Ah. Well, me phone es su phone," he returned cheerfully, heading for his favored chair.

"R.J.?" he blurted out suddenly. "Are we allowed to tell other people that we're Power Rangers?"

R.J. seemed to consider this for several minutes. "Have you told these people about your training with the Order?"

Casey blinked. "Actually, one of them was the one who got me into the Order in the first place. And the other has ... experience."

"I see," R.J. said gravely. "Well, experience is always a good thing. Someone with experience can give advice you might need."

He frowned. "Is that a yes?"

R.J. shrugged. "Whatever you decide to tell them is up to you. But!" He held up a finger, making Casey jump. "Are you sure they don't already know?"

Casey stared after him, then scowled. What kind of an answer was that? He was seriously getting sick of all this secret-technique-find-your-inner-balance-whatever stuff. And how would they know? Ocean Bluff may not be too far from Reefside or Blue Bay Harbor, but it wasn't like they were going to be checking the news for any new signs of Power Rangers or something.

Then he slapped a hand against his forehead, because Conner **so** would.

He stared at the phone again. Did he want their advice? Or should he try and figure everything out for himself, like Conner did? Wait, Conner had that teacher of his, so he didn't exactly figure things out for himself either. But maybe he should like, try or something. But what if Conner got all protective and tried to come keep an eye on him? He did that when they found out he'd been getting into fights at school, before Eric started teaching him martial arts. And what Red Ranger needs his big brothers to help him figure things out?

This one.

Before he could stop himself again, he reached for the phone.

He called Conner, because R.J. didn't have three-way calling, and Eric had a hard time getting reception if he was at the academy. It seemed to ring for hours, and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or not when it finally went to voicemail. "_This is Conner McKnight. I'm a little busy at the moment, so leave a message and I'll get back to you._"

Instinctively he added on a silent "_Someday_," to the end of the message. He'd always wondered how Conner had managed to sound somewhat professional when he recorded that. Professional had never exactly been part of his nature.

"Hey Conner, it's Casey." He paused, clearing his throat awkwardly. Well, this was harder to say than he thought it'd be. "Look, I uh ... I'm in Ocean Bluff right now. I just moved here - something happened at the school and I got sent to a different teacher. Um ... You know they have Power Rangers here now? Pretty wild, huh? Reminds me of when you were telling us about the Dino Thunder Rangers in Reefside. The Red guy's pretty cool, don't you think?"

He leaned against the wall and tilted his head back, holding back a groan. If Conner didn't understand this, he'd think he was a total spaz. He was barely making any sense to himself. "I guess ... I'm just going through some things right now, and I thought you might be able to offer some advice or something. Since you've been through some similar stuff and all. Um, if you talk to Eric any time soon, ask him if he can e-mail me some tips on fighting in groups of three or against large groups. Y'know, in case I need to go up against one of those Rinshi things they've got running around here. Just to be on the safe side."

He searched for something else to say and sighed, feeling stupid. "Well ... Call me back when you get a chance. Don't freak if I don't call you right away - I've been busy and all." He paused, watching as Theo and Lily walked down the steps together chatting happily, and winced. "And I take back everything I ever said about you and Ethan," he muttered quickly, hanging the phone up before he could take it back or change his mind again.

Discreetly wiping his sweating palms on his pants, he went to join his friends.


	2. The Response

Conner and Eric were surprisingly fun to write. I enjoyed this. Also, the couples Eric names are just ones he's making up to torture his brother with.

The Response

"_Hey Conner, it's Casey. Look, I uh ... I'm in Ocean Bluff right now. I just moved here - something happened at the school and I got sent to a different teacher. Um ... You know they have Power Rangers here now? Pretty wild, huh? Reminds me of when you were telling us about the Dino Thunder Rangers in Reefside. The Red guy's pretty cool, don't you think?_"

There was an awkward pause, and a soft thump in the background. "_I guess ... I'm just going through some things right now, and I thought you might be able to offer some advice or something. Since you've been through some similar stuff and all. Um, if you talk to Eric any time soon, ask him if he can e-mail me some tips on fighting in groups of three or against large groups. Y'know, in case I need to go up against one of those Rinshi things they've got running around here. Just to be on the safe side._"

Another long pause, followed by a defeated sigh. "_Well ... Call me back when you get a chance. Don't freak if I don't call you right away - I've been busy and all. And I take back everything I ever said about you and Ethan._" The last line was soft and rushed, almost as though he was trying not to be understood.

Conner grinned, tossing his cell phone lightly into the air and catching it. "Casey's got a boyfriend!" he sang out.

His twin rolled his eyes. "You don't know that for sure."

He offered his cell again. "Want me to play that last part one more time?"

"Dude, just 'cause he said he takes back all his jokes about you and Ethan doesn't mean he's got a boyfriend," Eric argued.

Conner folded his arms, still smirking. "You checked the news out of Ocean Bluff recently?"

Eric huffed in annoyance. "Okay, Dude, I agree Casey's gotta be a Ranger. But that doesn't mean he's dating his Blue!"

"Leo and Kai," Conner interrupted, holding up a hand as he counted off on his fingers. "Nick and Maddie. Me and Ethan." He paused, frowning. "I swear there's someone I'm forgetting ... "

Eric rolled his eyes again. "Mack and Dax?" he offered. "Carter and Chad? Wes and his Blue? Jason and - "

"Dude!" Conner broke in, looking horrified. "Do **not** go there!"

Eric grinned. "Sorry to sully the name of your original idol."

Conner gave him an odd look. "Sully?" he repeated. "Dude, you have been spending **way** too much time around Cam lately, Bro."

"Whatever," Eric dismissed, already putting the argument out of his head. "So? What are we gonna do?"

Conner's smile faded. He sighed, flopping in a chair and leaning his head back. "I don't know," he muttered.

"You're not gonna help him out?"

"Should I?" Conner returned. "I mean, most Reds have to figure it out on their own. Why should I let Case be special?"

"Because he's Case," Eric pointed out. "And dude, you **know** Case. He's gonna freak out about all this because he can't deal. He'll end up giving himself a stroke or something."

Conner lifted his head just enough to give him an odd look. "Dude, are we talking about the same guy here? Case doesn't want to deal with something, he just forgets about it until he can."

"No, he **pretends** to forget about it," Eric corrected. "You both think you get away with it when you're so obvious it's pathetic, Dude."

"Hey, we're talking about Casey, here - not me!" he protested.

Eric smirked. "'Cause you'll never admit to it either?"

"Casey. Not me," he repeated.

Eric sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever, Dude. Look, the point is this isn't everyone else. This is Case." He paused, giving his brother a considering look. "Can you live with yourself if you **don't** help?"

"Could I live with myself if I give him special treatment?" Conner countered. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Case has to work things out on his own, even if I **do** show him the ropes. And what worked for me might not work for him. He's not the same kind of Ranger, and he definitely doesn't have the same team."

"Thank god for him," Eric muttered.

Conner gave him a dirty look. "Dude, you **like** the guys."

"Doesn't mean I want Casey to put up with them. He's not you, Dude. They'd intimidate him into doing something stupid."

Conner frowned. He had a point. "You don't think his team's gonna do that to him, do you?"

Eric shrugged. "Don't know who they are, Dude. No way to know. If he thinks they're better than him, then yeah, they will. Unless they catch him doing it and make him stop."

They exchanged a look and sighed.

"He's really a McKnight, isn't he?" Conner asked at last.

Eric smiled faintly. "Where it counts. I still don't get why he ended up with the girls instead of us. He **totally** should have been our brother. Biologically, anyway." Not that it had ever mattered to either of them that he wasn't.

"What are you two up to?"

Conner jumped, craning his neck around to give Ethan the brightest, not-guilty smile he could manage. "Nothing!"

"Welcome home, Dude," Eric added quickly. "Conner said you had to work late tonight."

Ethan eyed them both warily. "I ended up finishing sooner than I than I thought I would."

Conner bounced to his feet, quickly moving in to try and kiss him. Ethan ducked, holding him back with a hand on his chest. He gave him a suspicious stare that made Conner squirm. "What were you two talking about?"

"It's nothing," Conner insisted, trying to pout at him for the missed kiss.

Ethan's eyes narrowed. "You said something about Casey and his team doing something do him. What's going on?"

Eric scowled. "Ethan, dude, why do you ask what we're doing if you've already been listening long enough to know?"

"Because I came in at 'you like the guys', and I wanted to know what I had to do with the conversation," Ethan returned, looking annoyed.

Conner shifted enough to wrap an arm around Ethan's shoulders and shoot his brother a pleading look. Ethan and Eric weren't quite friends, but they got along well enough for his sake. Every once in awhile though, their different personalities rubbed each other the wrong way. "Casey called asking for advice about being a Red Ranger, and we were trying to decide if I should give him some or not," he said quickly.

Ethan gave him an odd look. "Why wouldn't you?"

He sighed. "But is that really fair? I mean yeah, we had Dr. O and all, but most Reds have to make their own choices on how to work with their team. Should I give Case a heads up just because I can?"

Ethan bopped him on the forehead, ignoring Conner's affronted look as he grabbed either side of his face and made him look him in the eyes. "Conner, I never thought I'd say this, but you're spending too much time with me. Thinking is my department - not yours. You react."

Conner frowned. "But - "

"Is your Ranger Spidey Sense tingling? Or is this just your regular Casey Sense?"

He hesitated. "Not sure. Maybe. Kinda ... could be either one."

Ethan kissed him quickly, pulling back to offer an understanding smile. "Then go. Because you'll be impossible to live with until you do."

Conner's expression softened. "You're the best, you know that?"

"Of course I do," Ethan scoffed.

Eric looked away quickly as they kissed again. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "I'll uh, go get my stuff. Meet you outside, Dude," he muttered.

The couple behind him didn't stop to answer, and he made a hasty retreat.


	3. The Message

While this is the end of _Little Brother_, I'm probably going to have a side story about the part this skips over, when Casey's been poisoned. It really just didn't fit into this fic.

The Message

Eric sighed, stretching as they watched from a distance. The monster of the day was defeated - although that crawling-face thing was **nasty**. The Jungle Fury Rangers, as R.J. said they were called, had saved the day with ease.

"Conner?" he asked softly, noticing the distant look in his twin's eyes. He waited a moment, then waved a hand in front of his face. "Dude. You in there?"

Conner blinked, shaking his head. "Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Yeah, like he believed **that**. "What is it?"

Eric kept staring as Conner hesitated, then sighed at last. "Their Megazord," he said finally. "I think they said it was Jungle Pride? It ... it reminded me of Thundersaurus. The way it was mostly Red? Thundersaurus was like that." He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It was pretty cool - real agile, huh? Wonder what the cockpit's like."

Eric said nothing. Part of him, a part buried deep enough to keep his brothers from **ever** noticing, was jealous. Two Red Rangers in the McKnight Brothers now. Both of them were so obviously Body-Type, protective and self-sacrificing to a fault. Both Power Rangers.

Something he would never be.

He'd been jealous and angry when he first learned about Conner. Because dude, his brother was a **Power Ranger**. He was saving the world - what better calling was there than that?

His brother was a Power Ranger. Complete with superpowers, quirky color fetishes, and best friends for life. Battle stories he wouldn't believe, injuries he didn't want to know about. Experiences he's never dream of. Conner was something he could never be, never understand.

And now Casey was, too.

There would always be a part of each of them that he could never reach. No matter what he did as a Ninja, it couldn't compare to what they went through. Or would go through, in Casey's case, which made him shudder as his mind automatically filled in situations for him.

Judging by the look on his brother's face, Conner didn't have to imagine them.

Getting the call had been one thing. It had been almost fun then, laughing at the idea of their baby brother running around saving the world as they tried not to think too hard on the details. They'd worried, which is what brought them both there in the first place, but they hadn't really known what Casey was getting into.

Until last night, when they'd snuck into R.J.'s place and found him pale and twitching. R.J. had assured them it was a mild poison, nothing fatal, but enough for some serious discomfort. He'd called Sensei Tori anyway, practically begging her to streak to Ocean Bluff to help Casey.

With Sensei Cam's rebuilt teleportation system, she'd arrived in minutes. She promised them again that it was true the sting wasn't serious, but had still managed to help dilute the venom in his bloodstream. He hadn't asked how; Kyle tried to explain Water Ninja healing techniques to him once and all he got out of it was a headache.

Casey was fine now; they could both see that as they watched him demorph and laugh with his friends. But that was fine **now**. In the future he was going to be hurt, again and again. And even with all his skills and training, he couldn't do anything about it. For the first time in his life, he couldn't protect his little brother.

And it hurt.

"Sunglasses?" Conner spoke up suddenly, raising an eyebrow. "They morph with **sunglasses**?"

Eric rolled his eyes. "Yeah dude, that's **so** much worse than bracelets."

"Hey, I didn't make the stupid bracelets, Dr. O did."

He smirked. "Well, I guess it's not so bad that you have a jewelry fetish. I mean, it fits you now and all."

Conner stared at him with wide eyes, completely scandalized. "Dude, did you just say that my morpher made me **gay**?" he demanded incredulously.

Eric laughed, because making it funny meant it didn't hurt so much. "It gave you Ethan, didn't it?"

"That's got nothing to do with it!"  
"But you never would have gotten together with Ethan if you didn't have the bracelet morpher." he pointed out, waving a finger at him and smirking.

"How do you know?!"

He gave him an exasperated look. "Dude. Would you have so much as looked at him if you weren't Rangers together?"

That was something else he envied them. Because he couldn't keep a relationship to save his life, and Conner had pretty much found his soul mate. Not exactly who any of them had expected, but even he had to admit that they fit together because they understood things about each other no one else could. Soon Casey would find that too, and he'd be the odd-man-out again.

He had Kyle and Tally, but they weren't ... they weren't connected in the same way Conner was to Ethan, Kira, Trent, and even Dr. Oliver. The way he could already see the bonds forming between Casey and the two on either side of him. He had friends, but without that shared sense of fighting to survive together, it just wasn't the same.

He wasn't a Heart Ninja for nothing.

He ignored Conner's weak attempts to protest, watching the three young Rangers as they slowly walked back into town. "Huh," he muttered, carefully sensing them out with his ninja intuition. "That's an interesting setup."

Conner hesitated, but curiosity won. "What?"

"Case is an Earth-Body, and his Blue's Water-Mind, like Ethan. But his Yellow is Air-Heart - you don't see a lot of those. It's kind of a dangerous combination."

Conner raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"

"Energy and Heart in the same Ninja? She'll never leave anyone alone."

Conner laughed, then looked at him speculatively. "It's kinda funny, isn't it? That he's like both of us?"

He smiled, because he knew exactly what he meant. Casey shared the patient, open personality that he had with the physical nature of Conner. A very happy, friendly, and touchy-feely person if ever there was one. Somehow he thought it fit Case better than he would have liked to know. "Not really," he answered finally. "He's our baby brother after all."

"Little," Conner corrected softly, staring after where they'd disappeared as well. "He's not a baby anymore."

He hmmed in agreement, even if he didn't want to. "He really doesn't need us here, does he? He just thinks he does."

Conner shook his head. "It's scary when you first start out. He wants us anyway because he doesn't trust himself enough."

"Do you Reds **ever** trust yourselves?" he retorted.

Conner cuffed him lightly upside the head. "That's why we have a sensible Yellow like you to keep us going."

Sensei Dustin had called him a Yellow once. Privately, when he'd stayed after class for a few questions. He said that if he ever needed a replacement for the Yellow Wind Ranger, Eric was the only person he'd ever ask.

Not that it would happen. But the gesture had been nice.

"So we let him be?" Eric asked finally, looking at his twin. "Leave a message so he knows we came, but we're not interfering?"

Conner hesitated, then nodded at last with a heavy sigh. "It's best for him if we do it that way."

"Sucks for us," he grumbled, snagging Conner's phone out of his back pocket and ducking the swat he received for doing so. He paused as he started to dial, frowning. "Dude, where's your jacket?"

Conner blinked, then made a face. "Aw, man. I must have left it with Case before we took off this morning."

He rolled his eyes because he knew Conner wouldn't have done something like that on accident, and because he actually seemed to think he could get away with such a lousy excuse. "Whatever, dude. Just don't whine to me when I won't let you turn up the heater on the way back."

"Dude, it's **my** car!"

* * *

Casey blinked at his cell as the voicemail notice flashed. When had he missed that? He could have sworn he'd had it on him earlier.

"_Hey, Case. Ocean Bluff is nice - got a lot more beach than Reefside. Reminds me of Blue Bay Harbor, whenever I actually manage to get into town. A new team Power Rangers, huh? We caught part of a fight earlier today. You're right, Dude: the Red Ranger's awesome. Conner's already whining about wanting a Megazord._"

Fainter, in the background, an indignant cry of "_I am not!_"

_"You don't need any advice, Case. You're doing just fine. You know where there's a shoulder if you need it Dude, but you'll work things out on your own. You're a lot stronger than you think you are._"

Slowly, Casey began to smile. He picked up the red jacket he'd found on top of himself when he'd woken up that morning, taking a deep breath and letting out a long sigh. His senses had improved drastically since he'd become a Ranger, particularly his sense of smell. The jacket smelled like sweat, leather, and grass, and he wrinkled his nose even as he grinned, because it smelled like Conner.

He saved the message to his inbox, waiting patiently as the next one played.

This time it was Conner. "_Hey Case, I didn't know you liked 'em short_."

He jerked away, staring at the phone in horror as he frantically pressed delete.

"Casey? You feeling all right?"

He jumped, staring at his friends. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He gave them an awkward smile, silently praying neither of them ever ran into Conner. "Just, uh ... message from one of my big brothers. Nothing important."


End file.
